[Endothoracic goitre: anatomoclinical and therapeutic considerations]

Substernal goitre is a clinical condition in which the masin bulk of the enlarged gland is firmly located in the chest. The incidence of this pathology ranges in literature from 1.7% and 30%. This study examines 230 cases of substernal goitre out of a total 5.362 operations performed from 1965 to 2000, for thyroid gland pathologies (4.36%). According to their experience the Authors propose a classification based on the anatomical location of the goitre: right, left, anterior and posterior goitre are therefore identified. The surgical procedures performed include 136 subtotal thyroidectomies (59.1%), 59 emithyroidectomies (25.7%) and 23 total thyroidectomies (10%). In 12 cases the operation was confined to removal of the mediastinal mass (5.2%). The cervical approach was the only surgical access route used in all the patients, regardless of the different anatomical variants. Appreciable venous stasis, due to the mediastinal mechanical obstruction exerted by the goitre, was always evident at the operation. In order to limit the risk of bleeding during operation, careful hemostasis of the major vascular pedicles must be performed. Any attempt to legate the smallest vessel, should be avoided since it is a difficult, useless and time-consuming procedure. Minor bleeds promptly stop as soon as the pathological mass is removed. Ligation of the vascular pedicles can be easily achieved; in this way, the goitre is freed from its anatomical connections and the surgeon can safely manage the substernal portion of the mass. The mortality reported in this study was 0.43% (one patient died 30 days postoperatively due to respiratory complications), whereas the morbidity rate was 2.6%.